Book One: Madie
by malpal
Summary: Madie was a girl who had lost her family and placed in an auction for slaves. However, if it weren't for that terrible ordeal she would never have met...Ezra. Talk of God and Christianity.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_It has always amazed me how circumstances can change a person for better or worse. I grew up privileged, lacking in nothing. When I say privileged, I do not mean that we were rich, because we were, by no means, rich. But we had each other, and that was all that had mattered. I was the youngest of three children. I had two older brothers, Matthew and Brian. They were handsome men, and full of life, they were sure to follow in my father's steps by taking over the ranch that we owned. It was not big, and we had to struggle to keep it running, but it had been in the family for many years, and we intended to keep it for our children, and their children. My father was a burly man but had a kind heart. At first glance, he looked as mean as a bear and could probably tear a man's heart out of his chest with his strong hands, yet as his daughter I had never seen him raise a fist towards anyone, nor say an unkind word. My mother was by far the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, yet even though her beauty far surpassed many ladies, she was humble and loved everybody that she came in contact with. I had a wonderful life, surrounded by people who loved me, and I them, yet all that changed when I turned 19._

"Madeline Marie you change out of your brother's trousers right this minute. It is one thing to wear them when you're working outside but we are sitting down for dinner and you will act the lady you are." Her mother stood with one hand admonishing her while the other was pulling the bread out of the oven.

"But Mama, they are so comfortable and…"

"Madeline, listen to your mother. You're a beautiful young lady and I like to see you looking the part every once in awhile." Madie's father took the hat off her head and a tumble of red curls fell to her shoulders.

"Yes Papa," she grumbled and turned to go back to the bedroom when her brothers came running in with rifles in their hands.

"Pa, Mr. Cavanaugh is here, and he brought a bunch of men with them. I think they might be here for the money." Matthew, the oldest, looked worried as he relayed the information to their father.

"Papa, what money?" she was unaware of any debt they had to Mr. Cavanaugh, who was a friend of the family. "I thought he was your best friend Papa, why would he bring men with guns?"

"Stay out of this Madeline," her mother whispered harshly, fear inching it's way into her voice. "Now you come here and stand away from the door."

Just as her mother spoke those words, the door smashed open and Mr. Cavanaugh walked in with men behind him, pointing guns at her family.

"Mr. Bernard, I had hoped that we could have continued to be friends but it would seem that your failure to repay the money you owed me, has put a stitch in our friendship."

"I will have your money Mr. Cavanaugh, just give me a few more days," her father replied, his eyes locked on the guns pointed at his face.

"I'm afraid I don't have a few days. I myself have a deadline, and it appears I will have to collect my pay in some other manner."

Mr. Cavanaugh looked at Madie with lust in his eyes. "You're daughter would fetch quite a price at the auction in town tonight."

"My daughter has nothing to do with this," her father answered angrily.

Her mother grabbed Madie by the shoulders and held her tightly against her.

"I was afraid you would say that." Without a moment's notice, two of the men shot the brothers in the head. They both went down as Madie's father lunged for the gun, and in return he was shot in the gut. While he collapsed to the floor Mr. Cavanaugh stood above him. "You should have given us the money Charles," he said with almost a twinge of sadness, then shot him point blank in the forehead.

While this was happening, Madie's mother was screaming frantically, and shoving Madie behind her. All Madie could do was stand in shock, staring at her father and brothers lying in a pool of their own blood.

"Ah, Mrs. Bernard, I'm afraid you are too old to be auctioned off, even though you are a lovely woman. My men will appreciate you though, don't worry." Mr. Cavanaugh lurched for her mother nearly tearing the bodice of her dress and threw her to the ravenous men. They dragged her mother down the hall to the bedroom, and all Madie could do was listen to her screams as they proceeded to rape her.

"Now Madeline, what a beautiful name you have. It is a shame that you are clad in men's clothing. We will have to remedy that soon, we can't have you looking like a boy now can we?"

Mr. Cavanaugh grabbed her arm and yanked her out the door. Finally, once out of the sight of her dead family members, and the screams of her mother, Madie was able to awake from her catatonic state and break Mr. Cavanaugh's hold. Kicking him in the shin, the surprised man let her go to grab his ankle, and that gave Madie the chance to run. What she failed to see was the other man standing against the side of the house, invisible to all who weren't looking. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the butt of a gun aimed at her head.

* * *

"You have got to put a stop to this. It is barbarism Mr. Larabee." Mrs. Travis slammed a piece of paper on the table that Chris Larabee had claimed for himself. The overflowing glass of whiskey spilled onto the table with the force of Mrs. Travis' fury.

"Mary, I have told you this before, I can not stop them if they are merely selling servant girls." Chris told her patiently, crumbling up the piece of paper declaring the auction to be held in the saloon tonight.

"I would not object to this if I knew the women were going to good homes. But you know as well as I do that most of these women were forced into the auction and most will be sold as slaves, not servants. Many will be forced to perform…acts that are unbecoming of an unmarried woman." Mrs. Travis pulled her shawl tightly around her as if trying to ward of the bad thoughts that were entering her head.

"I agree with you Mary, and I will make sure to be here tonight in case they slip up and I can put a stop to it, but don't get you're hopes up. For a lot of these women, this is the end of the line."

"Fine then, it looks like I will have to do this by myself." Mrs. Travis hiked up her skirts and exited the saloon in a huff.

"Woman troubles Chris?" Josiah asked, ambling over towards his table with a glass of brandy in his hand.

"She wants me to put a stop to the auction tonight," Chris mumbled as he took a long swallow of whiskey.

"She's got a point there Chris," Vin Tanner spoke up from across the table. "I've seen many women go to the wrong kind of men during one of these auctions. The men break and beat those women so you wouldn't be able to recognize your own daughter if she were walking down the street."

"Demons, taking the souls of the innocents," Josiah muttered raising his glass to the heavens before he downed it in one gulp.

Chris leaned back in his chair, pondering the situation. "We know all the good men who live in these here parts. If a man buys a girl that we know won't treat her right, then we'll just have to convince him that it would be best to leave town without the girl."

"Sounds like a plan," Vin smiled as he cocked his gun.

"Rally the boys up, we're going to make sure everything goes down as planned," Chris spoke to Josiah, who nodded his head and walked out of the saloon, in search of the other men who made up the rest of the Magnificent Seven.

* * *

"Wake up girl," a harsh voice spoke as a bucket of water was dumped over Madie's head. Sputtering with shock from the cold, Madie awoke with a pounding headache. Looking around at her surroundings, she was unable to make out anything that looked familiar.

The room was bare except for a bath tub filled with water, and a plain white dress on a stool. Next to the bath tub stood an old woman with eyes glistening with hate. She wore a dirty blue dress and her graying hair was pulled back into a strict bun.

"Get up girly and undress, you need a bath," the woman spat out.

"Who are you," Madie asked, trying to keep fear from her voice.

"My name is Mrs. Dandor and you get your scrawny body into the tub before I get one of those men in here to do it for you."

"Ok," Madie nodded her head as she started to strip self-consciously. There was no way she was going to let those men touch her if she had anything to say about it. Turning her back to the old woman, she finished stripping off her clothes and covering vital body parts she sprinted to the tub and jumped in. For a moment, Madie had lost the ability to breathe because of the shock of the cold water.

Almost immediately, once Madie was in the water, Mrs. Dandor took a scrubber to her body, nearly taking off the skin as she washed Madie. Every time Mrs. Dandor raked the harsh bristles over her body, Madie cried out in pain.

"Oh hush your mouth. We have to get all the dirt off your body. Beauty equals pain; didn't your mother ever teach you that?" Mrs. Dandor continued to use the harsh treatment for nearly a half hour. By the time she was finished, Madie's body was red and in some spots, bled from where Mrs. Dandor scrubbed vigorously. Next the evil woman attacked her hair, taking a brush and getting all the knots out of her hair, pulling large clumps as she worked. Occasionally, Mrs. Dandor would dunk Madie under the water and scrub her hair with soap. After the first surprise dunk and nearly drowning, Madie had to remember to take a large breath of air.

"Fine, you're done, now get out and towel off," throwing a large towel at the girl. Her teeth chattering, she could barely hold onto the towel because she was shaking so bad from the cold. It hurt to run the towel over her scratched body but it was the only warmth she was offered.

When Mrs. Dandor thought she was finished, she took the towel away and threw the dress in her direction. "Put that on," she ordered and walked outside.

Slipping on the dress, Madie was shocked to see how revealing and indecent it was. The material was nearly see-through, and she was not offered any undergarments. The bodice lifted her ample breasts and barely covered her nipples. The sleeves of the dress were short and stopped at the top of her arms. Utterly embarrassed, she covered as much as she could with the lack of material given to her.

The door opened up and a large man came in, looking at her with passion in his eyes. "My, my, my lookie at what we got here." The large man strode towards her, but was cut off by a sharp voice.

"You leave her alone Mr. Bramble, don't you know no better. These girls have to stay innocent if we want a high price." Mrs. Dandor stepped into the room, and stood in front of Madie. "Now you go back to Mr. Cavanaugh and you tell him to ready the girls, they are ready to be branded."

"Branded?" Madie cried out.

"Shut up girl," Mrs. Dandor back handed her without any notice. Madie placed a hand to her bruised cheek and sputtered in protest. "Now if you know what's best for ya, you'll get going." The old woman pushed Madie out the door and down a corridor.

The door at the end of the hall was open and she saw other girl dressed in the same manner, standing against a wall waiting in line for something. Mrs. Dandor pushed her into line.

Watching Mrs. Dandor leave, Madie turned to the girl standing next to her. A stunningly attractive girl with long, straight black hair and almonds shaped eyes.

"Where am I," Madie whispered to the girl, as she stared down the hallway to make sure no one was coming.

"We're being auctioned off," the girl looked at her coolly. "Why else would you join?"

"Auction? You actually joined to be auctioned off?"

"Of course, that's what all the girls paid for. We're to be bid upon by only the richest men. We will be given good homes where we will most likely be called upon to be mistresses." The girl said this so matter of factly as if she were talking about something mundane as going to church.

"I don't understand. We're being sold to other men, but we're being branded by Mr. Cavanaugh?"

The beautiful girl laughed, "think of it more as a loan. We are branded because we are the property of Mr. Cavanaugh. He sells us to the highest bidder. In four years time, if they really like us, they will pay an exorbitant amount of money or else they give us back. Then Mr. Cavanaugh re-sells us in a different town. If we're lucky, we can stay in multiple homes, be cherished by different men."

"What is wrong with you?" Madie asked, sincerely hoping for an answer. What would cause a girl to want to be sold as a prostitute?

"Look over there girly," the beautiful girl pointed at the women who sat on the opposite side of the room. They were dressed in fine clothes and conversed happily with each other. "Those are the women who have gone before us. They seem fine to me, more than fine, they're happy. What is wrong with wanting to be happy?"

"God meant for us to be with one man. To be loved and held by one man. Our husband is the only one we are allowed to be with. Once we are sold, we become whores."

"Oh God, a bible thumper, just what we need. Grow up girly, you're in the big leagues now. Whores got nothing on us, we are the elite, the most beautiful. This is where women who are widows, who have no families, go. Women can not survive, on their own, so this is the end of the line."

Mr. Cavanaugh walked into the room, smiling at the women in the room. Madie sank back against the wall, wishing the room would consume her body so as her families killer would not see her. But instead, he looked straight at her and had the audacity to wink. It took all of Madie's strength not to throw herself at the smug man. She knew she would not last a second in a brawl with him. She tempered her anger and watched him with narrow eyes as he walked across the room greeting various women.

"How do you do ladies," he addressed the room. Many of the women seemed to fawn over him as if he were some God. He was not her God, Madie thought to herself, praying a quick prayer to the Lord for strength through this terrible ordeal.

"I believe it is time to acquire your brand. It will hurt for but a moment. I do so hate to cause harm to any of you fine young ladies, but alas business must go on as usual."

Mr. Cavanaugh pulled out of the coals a red hot poker with an emblem attached to the end. The first of the women kneeled down and placed her arm down on the small table. He turned her arm so her forearm was where the brand would be placed. Madie saw steam rise, and the smell of flesh being burned. The girl screamed and tears ran down her face, but a moment later he was finished and he helped her up and placed a kiss upon her forehead, whispering gentle words in her ear.

One by one, the girls before her knelt down to receive their brands, each time Mr. Cavanaugh treated them as if they were priceless gems and appeared apologetic to have to cause them harm.

Finally it appeared that Madie was the last of the women to be branded. She stood in her place, not moving towards Mr. Cavanaugh. "Madeline, it is your turn. Come here darling," Mr. Cavanaugh beckoned to her.

"No, I refuse. You must let me go, I am here under duress and if you were a true gentleman you would let me go."

"But I am a gentleman. You asked to be here my dear Madeline." Mr. Cavanaugh smiled at her, yet his eyes were warning her to back off.

"You are a liar! You are no gentleman, you are a murderer!"

"That is enough. I think someone needs to be taught a lesson. Mr. Bramble," Mr. Cavanaugh called for the man. A moment later, the burly man popped his head into the room.

"Did you need something Mr. Cavanaugh?"

"Yes, take Ms. Bernard out back and have her whipped."

"Gladly Mr. Cavanaugh," Mr. Bramble smiled maliciously. He strode towards Madie and grabbed her by the arm, nearly dragging her out the door.

"He's an evil man. Get out if you can. He murdered my family. He might have murdered yours." Madie desperately tried to get her story out to the women who sat watching the barbaric display.

"Shut your mouth," Mr. Bramble slapped her across the face, nearly sending her to the floor if it weren't for Mr. Bramble's strong grip on her arm. He dragged her across the hardwood floor, Madie's struggled to gain her footing but the cold man kept pulling her, unbalancing her so her bare feet and knees were bloodied from being scraped against the hard surface.

"Maybe next time you'll learn to keep your mouth shut." Mr. Bramble laughed as he looked down at the girl he was dragging around like a rag doll. Madie prayed to the Lord above that she would not be killed from the pain he was about to administer. But then maybe if she died she would join her family in heaven and not have to deal with the evilness of men on earth.

Outside were two trees rather close together. Manacles were attached to the tree limbs. Mr. Bramble clasped to the manacles to her wrists so she was stretched between the trees. Madie closed her eyes and bit her cheeks to keep from screaming as the first lash of the whip cracked against her back. She endured ten whip lashes without uttering a word.

"Well look at that, now we have to get her into a new dress. Great job Mr. Bramble," the voice of the old crone, Mrs. Dandor, sounded behind Madie. "Now let her go so I can fit her into a new dress."

Grunting and groaning Mr. Bramble took the chains off of Madie's writs and without the aid of the chains, and due to the pain from her back, Madie fell to the ground in a broken heap. Despite the blood that was running down her back, her scraped feet and knees, and her bruised wrists, Madie refused to utter a sound. "Get her up and take her to the changing room. Make yourself useful for once, Mr. Bramble."

Mr. Bramble picked Madie up and put her over his shoulder, she lacked the energy to even fight back. They made their way back into the rundown building and into the room she had dressed in earlier. Mr. Bramble set her on the floor careful not to get blood on himself.

Mrs. Dandor cleaned her wounds and helped Madie dress herself in a new white dress, which was an exact replica of the previous one. Moments later Mr. Cavanaugh entered the room with his hands behind his back.

"My dear Madeline, when will you learn that it is better to work with me than against me. I'm only here to help you find a good home. Is that so bad?"

Madie could barely look up at him. The room was beginning to spin, and she knew that she would black out from the pain momentarily. She was awake though to see Mr. Cavanaugh come towards her with the red hot poker and grab her forearm, searing her flesh with the brand. Before she blacked out, she looked down and saw the initials DC. Darius Cavanaugh, that name would haunt her for her entire life.

**This is a story that I wrote ages ago but one that I still love. I'm still in the process of finishing my previous Harry Potter story "The Past and the Future", so if there are any HP fans go on to my Profile and take a look. I'm taking a break though to upload this story, the first one is complete so as long as I can get some reviews I'll upload fast, but if not...(dum dum dum!!) So please review!!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Ezra sat at the table staring intently at the man sitting across from him. He knew of the card that the man had up his sleeve. He so hated men who cheated at cards…well besides himself.

"Now, Mr. Shaugnessy, I suggest you remove your person from this table before you receive a bullet in your chest. Because we both know that you are cheating and I so detest cheaters."

Mr. Shaugnessy stared at Ezra, trying to determine if he truly knew that he was cheating or if he was bluffing.

"Mr. Shaugnessy, leave, that is not a request. I do hate having the lovely barmaids clean up the mess from your bloody body. They get that enough from my former card players."

"Oh…ok," Mr. Shaugnessy threw down his cards, revealing a horrible hand that he would have been unable to win with, and started to claim his winnings. Ezra's gun that was hidden up his right sleeve popped out and he held it aimed at Mr. Shaugnessy's head.

"I think you should leave that here if you know what is good for you." Ezra stared down the man, not daring to blink and reveal a weakness.

"Right, uh…I'll just be goin' now."

"I think that is best." Ezra nodded towards the exit, enjoying the look of panic on the other man's face. Ezra didn't shove the gun back into his sleeve until he was sure the man was gone.

"Great show you put on there Ezra," Buck laughed as he sat down next to his friend.

"I do live to amuse you," Ezra replied.

"I'm sure you do. Hey you hear about the auction tonight? Chris wants to know if you'd be interested in making sure everything goes down as planned. Mrs. Travis is pitching a fight about selling women and everything."

"She must be out of her mind, protesting the buying and selling of women," Ezra said sarcastically.

"I know," Buck raised his glass in a toast.

Ezra shook his head, asking himself why he bothered with these men. Why did he bother to help others when it did not help him in return?

"Come on boys, the wagon is here," Chris entered the saloon with his hand resting on his gun. "Buck you better be stone cold sober, if not I don't want you on my team."

"I'm fine," Buck laughed and stood up. He took two steps before falling flat on his face, passed out.

"Damnit Buck," Chris swore. He nodded to the bartender, "get him out of here. We have a lot of people coming in today." The bartender grumbled, slamming a towel that he wore on his shoulder down onto the bar. He grabbed a couple of men, and with their aid, dragged the drunken Buck out of the saloon.

"Ezra, are you with me tonight?" Chris asked.

Ezra looked up at the man clad in black, determining whether he wanted to dirty his hands working what most likely would lead to himself not being paid.

"Women being sold, what business is it of ours?" Ezra asked Chris.

"It's not, we're just making sure they get sold to good men is all. Are you in or are you out, I need an answer now."

Ezra cocked his head to the side, playing around with the cards in his hand. "Why not, I have nothing else to do tonight. Why not get myself shot."

"Great," Chris said, though the tone of his voice said other wise. "I want you up top. You have an eye for spotting people. If you see anyone that doesn't look respectable, you point him out and we'll make sure that he doesn't pay for a girl."

"Well Mr. Larabee, that would be nearly everyone in this town." Ezra grinned at Chris as he stood up, putting on his jacket.

"You know what I mean Ezra," Chris responded with a raised eyebrow, and walked out of the saloon.

"That I do," Ezra sighed. "That I do."

* * *

Madie awoke with a slap on the face. She lay on a hard surface, on her stomach. Thankfully she was not lying on her back because it burned like nothing she had ever felt before. She started to sit up, to see who had slapped her. It was Mr. Cavanaugh, staring disdainfully down at her. "Wake up sunshine, it's time for the pageant." He pulled her out of the wagon. Madie was unable to gain her footing in time so she fell to the ground.

"Jesus woman, by the time you get up there, no one will want you anymore because of how beaten and bruised you look."

"Maybe if you wouldn't beat women, there wouldn't be a problem." Madie looked up at the evil man, defying him any chance she received.

Mr. Cavanaugh raised his hand as if to slap her, but a crowd was starting to walk their way, men who were going to the saloon for the auction. "Get in there with the other women."

Madie followed the other girls through the back entrance of the saloon. They waited out there in the cold, the flimsy dresses giving them no coverage from the weather. A few minutes later, Mr. Cavanaugh pushed past them, and greeted the crowd. Madie had no reason to listen to him, all she could do was dread the moment she would have stand before all those men and hope that the one who bought her would be kind. A tear trickled down her face, but she barely noticed it because her body had become from everything that she had seen and what had been done to her today.

* * *

Ezra stood on the second floor of the building, looking down at the crowd of men, and the one woman Mrs. Travis, who had come to oversee that the men did their job in protecting the women. Every so often Ezra would point out a man, and one of their guys would stand next to him and make sure that he did not bid on a woman.

Ezra, who grew bored of watching the crowd started to watch the women who were being bid upon. All of them were very attractive women, and they flaunted their wears to the crowd. They seemed to be happy, glad that they were being auctioned off as if they were cattle. Ezra grew disinterested with the women after awhile, until the last woman caught his eye.

The woman with long, curly red hair, green eyes, and a figure that would make any man's mouth water, stepped onto the stage. What separated her from the other women was the look in her eyes. She was haunted by something, and she moved as if she were in constant pain. She did not flaunt herself like the previous women. The woman seemed scared, as if she did not want to be there.

At the sight of her, a flurry of hands raised to bid upon her. For five minutes, many men haggled over the small woman. It came down to two men who were flanked by Josiah and J.D. Two men that Ezra had flagged earlier, and neither of those men were backing down, despite the harsh words that Josiah and J.D. were whispering in their ears. Ezra's heart lurched in his chest, and he reacted hastily.

"$500," he raised his hand from the balcony. All eyes turned towards him, but he only had eyes for the red headed vixen that was staring at him with a mixture of hope and fear.

"Can anyone top that?" the auctioneer asked to the crowd. "Then sold to the gentleman up top." The man gestured for the woman to go backstage where she would be later claimed by her bidder. "Well that brings us to the end of our auction. Thank you for all that participated. And for everyone else who did not get the chance. I'm sure we will be back later on. Thank you once again."

At the end, people either fought to exit the building or rush to the bar for a drink. There were only a handful of men that were trying to make their way to the back room. Ezra pulled himself out of his stupor and in daze, made his way down the steps and across the room. He was stopped by his companions all with confusion written on their faces.

"Ezra, what in the hell were you thinking?" Chris laid a hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit.

"I do not know what came over me." Ezra responded, still not sure what had just happened.

"Do you realize that you have just gotten yourself married?" Josiah asked Ezra.

"What? I thought she would be maid or mistress." Ezra looked sharply at Josiah.

"Well that's what most of those men will do, but you need to make that girl respectable. She has to walk in this town. All those other men are from out of town." Josiah tried to explain patiently but Ezra just pushed past him into the backroom.

The room was crowded with men chatting with the woman they had procured, or they were signing a contract at a table. Ezra pushed past everyone to the man that was auctioning off the women. "Excuse me," Ezra called out to the fellow who looked his way.

"Yes, come this way," the man grabbed a hold of his forearm and pulled him through the remaining few people. "I believe you bought this fine specimen." The man indicated the young lady that was standing behind him. She was even more beautiful up close, yet from here Ezra could also see the worry lines that crisscrossed along her brow and around her eyes.

"What is your name darlin'?" Ezra managed to utter.

"Madeline Marie Bernard," the girl whispered hoarsely.

"Madeline," Ezra spoke the name as if it were heaven sent. Truly she was an angel.

* * *

Madie stared up at the man. He seemed kind enough and handsome as well. He had taken off his hat when he spoke with her. His hair was light brown and his eyes were a light green. The man had a slight build but it did not hide the strength that she knew he had. What made Madie almost smile that day was his voice, the Southern accent he spoke with nearly made her melt.

"My name is Ezra Standish ma'am," he spoke in a kind voice. "Would you like the money now," Mr. Standish asked as he turned to Mr. Cavanaugh.

"Yes please," the slick man smiled. Ezra rested his foot on a nearby stool and raised his right pant leg. Inside his boot he pulled out a wad of money, and took out more than half, putting the rest back into his boot.

"Thank you very much Mr. Standish. Now if you would sign this contract, your Ms. Bernard will be free to leave with you."

"Uh…may I read that contract," Madeline spoke up hesitantly.

"Of course not," Mr. Cavanaugh spoke harshly, glaring at Madie. "Women shouldn't worry themselves with little things like a contract. That is what the men are for, isn't that right Mr. Standish."

Madie watched as Ezra looked over Mr. Cavanaugh, a fleeting look of disdain washed over her buyers face. "No, Ms. Bernard should look over this contract since it does pertain to her life. Please, come over here sweetheart, we'll read it together." Ezra eyed the man as Madie hurried to stand next to him.

Looking at the contract, she hurriedly read through it and got to the fine print. It was very hard to make out, and if she didn't know what she was looking for she would have missed it. "There, read that," Maddie pointed to the part she had just been reading.

Ezra looked at the girl and read through what she had excitedly pointed out. Frowning, he looked at Mr. Cavanaugh. "According to this, you will be back in four years to collect the woman that I bought, or a fee in place of said woman. What kind of scam are you running here Mr…"

"Cavanaugh, Darius Cavanaugh," Mr. Cavanaugh sent a scathing look to Madie, but she didn't mind because for once that day she felt safe standing behind Ezra.

"Now, I am not going to sign this here contract. If you make up a new contract that is acceptable to my terms, then I will sign, but until then, Ms. Bernard and I will be leaving." Ezra turned and gestured for Madie to leave with him.

"That I cannot let you do Mr. Standish. If you do not sign the contract, you cannot leave here with my girl."

"That is where I am afraid you are wrong." As quick as anything she had ever seen, Ezra pulled his gun, turned around and aimed it at Mr. Cavanaugh's heart. The other arm wrapped around Madie's waist and pulled her against his back. "Oh Mr. Larabee!" Ezra called out without looking away from a furious Mr. Cavanaugh.

"What's going on here Ezra?" A tall man dressed in black, flanked by a number of harsh looking men entered the back room.

"This man thought to cheat me by taking Ms. Bernard from me in four years unless I paid in exorbitant fee in return."

"Really, now I don't recall you telling the crowd that before they paid for the girls," the man in black replied. "I think it best you pack up and leave this town, before Ezra puts a hole in your head."

Mr. Cavanaugh looked as if he were debating in his head what he should do, but his survival instincts kicked in. "This isn't over Mr. Standish."

"Oh, I do believe it is, Mr. Cavanaugh," Ezra replied, watching as the older man fled the building, with his goons in tow. He didn't un-cock his gun or let go of Madie until the man was out of sight.

"Well Ezra, are you going to introduce us," one of the men asked.

"Oh yes, of course forgive me. Ms. Madeline Marie Bernard, these are my companions Chris Larabee, J.D. Dunn, Vin Tanner, Nathan, and Josiah."

"How do you do," Madie curtsied and as she looked down, she remembered how scantily dressed she was. Blushing, she stepped behind Ezra, in hopes of hiding her body from the men's eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ezra noticing her discomfort, took off his dark green velvet jacket offered it to Madie.

"Thank you," hurriedly she put her arms through and buttoned the jacket.

"Would you like the wedding now, or tomorrow?" Josiah asked bluntly.

"Well, now thanks Josiah for not thinking before you opened your mouth. I had yet to discuss that with Ms. Bernard." Ezra looked embarrassed as he turned towards Madie, who looked confused.

"Ms. Bernard, I and my _friends_" he stressed friends, "think that it might be better for you if you were to be married to me. I have understood that some in the auction were to be uh…mistresses and I thought you would be more respectable if you and I were to be married." Ezra looked at her trying to gauge an answer out of her.

Without warning, Madie launched herself at Ezra, throwing her arms around his neck. Softly she sobbed into his shoulder.

"Oh," Ezra exhaled, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Was that a yes or a no?"

"That's a yes," Madie sobbed out. "You don't know how happy that makes me. I was so scared that I would be sold to someone who would use my body as…as…" Madie broke into a fit of sobs just thinking about it.

"Hush now, you are safe with me darlin'." Ezra rubbed his hand over her back in an attempt to soothe her, but instead she cried out in pain. "Ms. Bernard," Ezra drew her back. "What is wrong?"

With everything that had happened today, twice she had blacked out from pain, the third and last time she blacked out was from pure exhaustion. But Madie knew she was in capable hands.

"I think we'll postpone the wedding for tomorrow," Josiah decided. Ezra responded with a dirty look as he cradled the unconscious Madeline in his arms.

**So...I'd really appreciate some feedback. I know people are reading it because I got a few hits. Please just let me know if this is worth my time to upload and to finish the rest of the books. Once I get the opening out of the way, this will follow the episodes pretty well but with additional characters and situations. Review, review, review! ...please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ezra scooped the young girl into his arms. "Nathan, we need to get her to the room above Mrs. Travis'."

"You right, I'll go ahead and get everythin' ready." Nathan ran out of the room, with Ezra pushing past people to get Madie the help she needed.

Ezra fended off questions and the knowing looks he was receiving from his companions. He finally made it outside and he took a moment to breathe in the fresh, cool air. Slowly, he started to regain his senses and question his own motives.

"What the hell have I done," Ezra asked himself. A moan responded to his question. Ezra looked down at the beautiful woman, "from the lips of an angel." The sight of her took his breath away.

"Ezra," Nathan called from a window, "you can bring her up now."

Ezra could only nod because the ability to speak had failed him for the moment. Continuing on his path, he took the stairs to the second floor, and entered the room to which Nathan held the door open.

"You just set her on the bed," Nathan pointed to the small bed already made up with blankets.

"What is going on here?" Mrs. Travis asked from the doorway. Both men turned around, going for their guns at the newcomer. "Hold it boys, it's just me." Mrs. Travis eyed the men's hands as they slowly relaxed their tense arms. "Who's the girl?"

"One of the ladies from the auction," Ezra responded softly.

"Well what is she doing here? I hope one of your men didn't buy her," Mrs. Travis took on a severe tone. She looked like she had been awoken from sleep because her hair was down, and her robe seemed to be haphazardly thrown onto her slight frame.

Ezra looked at Mrs. Travis over his shoulder, not at all pleased with what she was implying. "I had acquired her Mrs. Travis," Ezra spoke in a dangerous voice, one not generally heard from the laid back gambler.

"I see," Mrs. Travis pursed her lips. "Then I suggest you leave Mr. Standish. I will help Nathan and we will call you when she is able to go back to work."

Ezra let out a harsh laugh. "It is amazing how you people think so little of me," Ezra whispered more to himself, but Nathan heard what was said. "She will not be working Mrs. Travis, not as a servant or a whore." Ezra turned around and noticed the rest of his entourage in the doorway. "She will be my wife." Without another word said, Ezra pushed through the men that stood there in stunned silence not knowing what to think of the conman.

* * *

"So what is the verdict? Will she be ok?" Ezra asked Nathan the next morning, looking over at the prone figure lying in the bed.

"She's pretty banged up Ezra. Her feet and knees are scraped up like she been dragged all over the place. She's also been whipped, her back is a mess of scars, and…"

"And what Nathan?" Ezra prodded the man to continue, he was already displeased with what he was being told.

"She was branded," Nathan spoke softly. "The initials DC were seared onto her forearm. There's no way that'll heal. She'll have that the rest of her life."

Ezra's face hardened like stone, on impulse he hit the doorframe. "That son of a bitch Cavanaugh."

* * *

At the sound of something being hit and the harsh words of a man, Madie woke up, scared that the kind man who took her in had only been a dream. She was startled awake and looked around the unfamiliar room.

"Oh," a voice uttered. Madie looked to see who else was in the room. Standing were two men, one was black and she vaguely remembered him last night as she kept awaking and falling back to sleep. He was the one who re-bandaged her back and cleaned her cuts.

The other man was the one who had rescued her, a handsome man at that. "Mr. Standish," Madie was able to croak out.

"Madeline, I am terribly sorry if I have awakened you, go back to sleep darlin' you're safe here."

"I think I have slept long enough…if that is okay with you of course." Madie bowed her head with a look of submission upon her face.

"You can do whatever it is that you like Madeline." Madie felt the side of the bed dip and she opened her eyes to see her future husband looking down at her with care in his eyes.

"I want you to understand Madeline, that you are not my property. You are your own person and I respect that."

With everything that had happened recently, the tenderness that Madie saw in this man was in such stark contrast to the utter horror that she had had to endure, that the dam that held back her emotions finally broke. At first she clasped her arms around herself and frantically looked away from Ezra, struggling to regain her composure. When that did not work she bit down hard on her lower lip, hoping the physical pain might distract her, but that also did not work.

"Madeline," Ezra uttered her name gently, seeing the inner struggle she was having with herself.

Upon hearing her name, Madie could no longer hold back the tears. It was heart wrenching to hear the pain emanating from her voice as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

At a loss for what to do, Ezra awkwardly placed a hand upon her arm and that was all Madie needed to throw herself against the man who had saved her life. Both seemed unaware that Madie was merely clad in a blanket, it was purely comfort that Ezra offered the young girl and it didn't even enter his mind to take advantage of her in the current state she was in. As Madie clung to Ezra's lithe body, Ezra's hand lightly caressed Madie's back that was consequently covered with bandages to aid in the healing process. He knew that she would always have the scars from the vicious beating she had received and Ezra dearly wished that he could take away the suffering that she had endured by the hands of men who did not even deserve to live.

Minutes passed and Madie was finally able to gain control of her emotions, yet she did not pull away from him. He was nice and warm, and she loved the feel of the slight stubble of hair on his cheek against her own. She felt safe and she did not want to let go. Burrowing deeper into his embrace she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck.

"He killed them," she finally whispered, a catch in her throat.

"Who?" Ezra dreaded the answer to the question.

"He killed my family. He killed them in front of me. My brothers, my father, my mother…they hurt my mother so. I heard her screams as they…" A sob escaped her lips as the memories came flooding back to her mind. "I need to go back there. I need to bury them. I need to find our preacher and have a proper burial. I need…I need…" She lapsed into silence as the reality of what she needed to do sunk in.

"Sshh, darling…don't you worry about that. We'll take care of everything." Ezra pulled her as close as he dared without hurting her. "And I swear to you that I will find the men responsible for this and bring them to justice. They will not go unpunished."

* * *

Days had passed and since then, the Bernard family had been laid to rest. A beautiful funeral was held and many of the town people came to pay their respects. Once everything had been tied up, Madeline was ready to go ahead with her new life. She missed her family terribly, but she was engaged to marry Ezra, and she did not want to disappoint her future husband.

Madeline sat outside the general store, watching as families went about their business. It was nice and relaxing to enjoy the peacefulness of the day. At first she wondered if she was even capable of happiness, with the brutal murder of her family and the awful end that awaited Madie if it weren't for Ezra. But she came to believe that God had sent Ezra to her for a reason, and who was she to question Him. She should accept the cards that she had been dealt and go on with her life as best she can.

Speaking of cards Madie pulled out the card deck from her little purse, and gently ran her fingers over the gift that Ezra had given her. When she found out yesterday that he was a card shark, she confessed to him that she did not know how to play cards. Gaping open mouthed at her, Ezra pulled out one of his various card decks and handed it over to her.

"My dear, at the soonest opportunity I will teach you how to play. No wife of mine is going to be a novice at the great game of poker." Flashing her, his trademark southern smile he chucked her on the chin and left her gazing fondly after him.

* * *

Weeks had passed and Madie and Ezra were still unwed. Madie began to grow a bit uneasy, worrying about what it was that she should do and how she should bring up the sensitive topic. Madie spoke to Mrs. Travis about her current thoughts, but she just smiled and offered her simple platitudes.

It felt rather lonesome in town since the group of seven left to help a group of Native Americans. She hadn't heard from Ezra for awhile and she was beginning to get scared. 'What if something happened to him?' It was all she could think about.

For the moment she was living in Mrs. Travis' spare bedroom until the wedding, but everyday she would let herself into Ezra's room and tidy up the place. She hoped that when he returned and saw that she had taken good care of the place, he would be pleased and feel lucky to have her as his wife.

**Thank you to all those who had reviewed. I love hearing what you think!**

**BethGisborne: I'm glad that you like Madie being a Christian. I feel that it is so important to make Madie strong in both God and in character. Trust me, she'll go toe to toe with Ezra and anybody if she feels it necessary.**

**Boomagoo: This is an old story so it means a lot to me that you think it is well written! I'm still working out old kinks so hopefully the writing will improve even more! Yeah!**

**Princesssfiona: Thanks for sticking around, hopefully you love this chapter and the others to come.**

**Betsylupin: Ezra is by far my favorite character and I look forward to digging in deeper to see how he would react in situations given new people in his life. I think Madie is going to have a great impact on Ezra and even vice versa. This is a different twist on the slave/master plotline and I look forward to pursuing the plot further on in the story. Thanks for the compliments! And your questions will hopefully be answered by either this chapter or chapters to come.**

**Keep on reviewing everyone, it brings such joy to my life!!!!  
**


	4. Chapter 4

_**So this is the point in the story that starts to follow the series. I've taken scenes from the show and recreated it with Madie involved. It will be interesting to see how she effects the rest of the Magnificent Seven. And don't worry, there will be plenty of romance for the rest of the group members. Please keep reviewing folks, it's what keeps me writing!**_

**Chapter 4: One Day Out West**

Once again sitting on a bench outside the general store, she noticed quite a number of the buildings being boarded up. Madie filed the information away in her brain to ask Ezra about it later and continued to people watch, oblivious to the argument that was being conducted just behind her in Mr. Potter's General Store.

* * *

"You know Mr. Potter, as far as I'm concerned, my uncle's being more than fair with you." A lean man with unclean features spoke to the owner of the store. He walked around the place as if he owned it, with a calm demeanor hiding his true form.

"Customers are leaving. This whole town's gonna disappear. It's just a matter of time. If I was you, I'd sell now. Because every day that you wait…" the man picked up a bowl off of the counter. "Your store is just gonna be worth…" the man dropped the bowl onto the floor, the dish shattering into pieces. "…less and less."

Mr. Potter, thought of himself as a man with high moral character, he would not let this man see his fear or let himself be bullied by a hooligan.

He picked up a broom, intending to clean up the mess, but also as a weapon to defend himself if need be. "Get out," Mr. Potter stated firmly. "Tell Mr. James this store is not for sale."

The man clearly not liking the response he had just received from Mr. Potter, proceeded to knock over other fragile items in the store.

Becoming aware of the situation behind her, Madie hesitantly started to get up. A man, whom she had just noticed now, placed a hand on his gun when he saw her move towards the store. Eyes wide she promptly sat back down, she glanced around to see if anyone besides her had heard the rucus that was going on. Luckily, an older gentleman who had just stepped off of the carriage heard the sounds coming from the general store.

"I must reduce my offer now," the man of the store shook his head sadly at Mr. Potter. "Some of your fixtures are busted." He looked around the store and shot a disgusted look towards Mr. Potter, but at the last minute he smirked, confidently assuming that Mr. Potter would eventually sell his property.

Mr. Potter was not so confident, in fact he was angry at the man who thought he could bully everyone out of their livelihoods. If no one else thought to stand up against this man, then it would have to be himself. "You can tell him what he can do with his money." He picked up a frame that the man had trashed and threw it at the departing figure.

Madie looked over and saw the grizzled figure pause before going for his gun. Before Madie could utter a word, the man shot Mr. Potter twice. She looked to the older gentleman who had recently arrived, he was holding a shot gun in his hand and walking towards the murder scene in which the killer was stupidly hanging around. Madie feared that he would notice her if she attempted to move so she decided to stay where she was, choosing to watch the events play out.

The murderer reentered the building, with his two cohorts standing outside, and Madie jumped when she heard another shot come from inside. Madie looked to see Mrs. Travis run out of her newspaper shop and the man with the shotgun was standing in front of the general store, blocking their exit.

Onlookers started to accumulate around the store. Viciously, the man waved his gun at the people standing before him. "What are you staring at. Go on, get out of here." The man who had been watching Madie carefully, waved his gun for her to leave as well. She was about to rise from her chair until she saw Ezra and the rest of the men who belonged to the group, The Magnificent Seven, ride in.

Scared of what would occur next, the townspeople ran towards their own houses and shops, eager to get away from the oncoming fight. Mrs. Travis though strode towards the older gentleman with fear in her eyes. 'Who was this man who defied the outlaws?'

"Drop your gun belt." The older gentleman softly said in command to the outlaw group. His shotgun pointed almost carelessly at the group of three.

"You don't know who I am do you?" The leader of the group asked cockily.

"No, and I don't care."

"Well, you're making a big mistake pointing that thing at me."

"Sawed off coach gun, double odd buck, should cut all three of you in half," the older gentleman replied nonchalantly.

"That stuff in there was self-defense. Wasn't it boys?" The two men nodded their heads in blind agreement. Madie started to say something in response, but by that time Ezra and his friends had reached the scene and Ezra noticed that Madie was too close for comfort. He shook his head to keep quiet and he placed a hand up for her to stay where she was.

"He's unarmed. You shot him twice." No inflection tinged the older man's voice. It seemed as if he had been doing this for years. "That's murder in my book." Perhaps he was a sheriff in another town.

Mrs. Travis reached the man and ran up to him. "Oren," she uttered, plainly wishing for him to be safe."

"Get out of here Mary." He waved a hand for her to leave, not wanting her to be in the situation.

"Please be careful," she shot a look towards the outlaws and she saw Madie sitting next to them. Her eyes grew wide and she slowly backed out. Shooting Chris Larabee a plea for help.

"I admire your courage, old man." The outlaw smiled, confident that the situation was still in his control. "But there's three of us and one of you." The man laughed as he pointed out the odds.

"Hardly sounds fair," Vin commented, taking a deep drink from his canteen.

"Nope," Nathan agreed as he tied up his horse.

The smile started to melt away from the young outlaws face when he saw more and more people that were not on his side. A ruggedly handsome man walked in front of him with a dark mustache and a cocky grin. "Well, Howdy," Buck tipped his hat towards the object of everyone's interest. He walked straight up to them, crowding them as one who wants to showcase their dominance. Buck strode to where Madie sat and gently took her by the arm. "Walk to Ezra," he whispered. No one bothered to stop her as she walked quickly to where Ezra stood.

Ezra grabbed her wrist as soon as he was close enough and dragged her next to him. "Woman you will be the death of me." He caressed her face with trembling fingers and hugged her close. "Now just stay behind me and don't say a word. If things go bad, I want you to run, you understand me darling?" Madie nodded, simply happy to be next to Ezra once again.

Everyone seemed to be flanking the outlaw group. Buck had taken up the spot Madie had previously vacated, Vin and Nathan were watching the three men rather closely, waiting for any signs that they might pull their guns.

Chris walked behind Mary, placing a reassuring hand on her back as he passed her. An imposing figure, Chris exuded leadership and charm, he was no one to mess with, and even though the outlaw group was unaware of his reputation, it was instantly made aware that he was a man to respect.

"You stay out of this, cowboy. This ain't your fight." The murderer sized up Chris, knowing that he was not a man he wanted to fight.

"Did he just call me a cowboy, J.D.?" A small smile played upon his face.

"I think he did Mr. Larabee." J.D. nodded his acquiescence.

"At least once," Ezra smiled as he brushed off the dust of his fine red coat.

"He hates that," unbeknownst to all, Josiah had maneuvered his way towards the outlaw group, crowding one of the men that flanked their leader.

Chris slowly walked towards the man who had unintentionally insulted him. Stopping just inches away from him he asked again. "Did you just call me a cowboy?"

Fear started to sink into the psyche of the killer. "No, I was just saying that it ain't your fight." Trying to placate the man seemed to be the only way for the outlaw to get out of the situation.

"Not yet," Chris smiled with a hint for the outlaw that he desperately wanted to make it his fight.

The older gentleman, Oren, walked up to stand next to Chris, shut gun stilled aimed at the group. "Drop the gun belt."

"Who the hell are you?" Still not eager to give up the fight yet, the man asked a question in order to delay the obvious.

"New circuit judge, Oren Travis."

"Travis," Madie uttered. "I wonder if he's related to Mrs. Travis." Ezra glanced back with a finger to his mouth. Madie promptly became quiet, momentarily forgetting her promise to not speak.

"You're under arrest young man." Looking around and seeing nowhere else he could turn, he slowly unhooked his gun belt and dropped it at the feet of Chris and Oren Travis.

Once everything had settled down, and the man had been taken into custody. Mr. Potter's body was removed from the shop. Mrs. Potter and her son trailed the body, as the men of the town took it to be buried.

Madie desperately wanted to comfort the newly widowed Mrs. Potter but Ezra had kept a tight hold on her hand, not quite content at letting her out of his sight just yet.

"I'm Judge Travis." Madie looked towards the jail, where the judge had stepped out and was speaking to the street. "I've come nearly 300 miles to bring some justice to this territory. Now, we're gonna have a trial here. We're gonna need 12 residents for a jury. Any volunteers? You?" Judge Travis pointed out a man who he knew to be at the scene of the crime, but the man lowered his head and promptly walked away.

There was silence on the street and no man was eager to admit that he was there, because all were afraid of the outlaw's family. They knew that if they spoke ill of him, the family would ride in and kill whoever spoke.

Madie who saw the whole thing raised here hand. "I will testify. I'll be on the jury."

The judge laughed, "a woman? It's a nice idea, but we need men. Are you saying that only a woman is man enough to testify?"

Madie was outraged at how calmly she was passed by. She was about to say something more when Ezra yanked on her hand to be quiet. "This is not the time or the place." Fuming, Madie remained silent, knowing that Ezra felt the same way as the judge did made Madie feel like a second class citizen, which was precisely how women were viewed in the Old West.

"Isn't there one man here who wants to see justice done?"

The judge pointed to a man in the crowd. "I'd like…I'd like to help, sir, but I got a farm to work. Crops…crops to get in."

"All right, the hell with it." Tired of the feeble excuses he was receiving from the townspeople. "I'll conduct a bench trial myself."

* * *

"I'm sorry I opened my mouth. My Momma always said that I forgot to act like a woman should and to remember my place…"

"Madeline, I am not angry with you." Ezra sighed, taking off his hat and slapping it against his thigh. Dust came off the hat like waves in an ocean, he so detested getting his clothes dirty. "I was just worried. I do not want you involved in these matters. Now why don't you go along and see Mrs. Travis."

"But Ezra I don't…" Madie tried to say that she was bored doing nothing. She wanted to get some kind of job.

"Not now Madeline. I just came back from a hard job. I'm going to get something to drink and for God's sake woman, stay out of trouble." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and went into the tavern, leaving Madie to stay forlornly into the building, before making her way to the Gazette.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Notes: **Ok…I have to apologize for such a long wait. A lot has happened since I have updated this story. I recently got married and have moved into a new place. So now that everything is out of the way I can finally get back to writing! I have a dodgy internet connection, at the best of times, so I'll try to update as much as I can. I am bound and determined to finish this story. I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 5**

Ezra stood at the bar taking a shot of whiskey, watching with amusement as Buck and Nathan attempted to haul Josiah up to Nathan's room to have his leg re-bandaged, leaving the tab with Ezra of course.

"So everyone's going their own way." J.D. spoke next to Ezra, sounding sad.

"As well they should," Ezra poured the drink down his throat with nary a grimace. The thoughts of Madie so close to the shooting still left him shaken. As soon as he could, he was going to get married and get out of this town. Find a place to open his bar, possibly have children. Ezra with children, he nearly laughed at the idea.

Into the bar stepped Oren Travis, Ezra saw him through the mirror above the bar, and he just realized where he knew him from. "Good Lord," just what he needed a reminder from the past.

"All right. I got twenty dollars for any man who wants to be sheriff." Mr. Travis spoke to the bar. "A week's work." When no one spoke up, "all right thirty dollars." J.D. perked up, looking eager to prove himself, this was what he had been waiting for.

"I am deeply moved by this exhibition of courage," Mr. Travis stated, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Sir?" J.D. spoke, walking up to him with a huge smile on his face. "I'd like the job."

"No, you're too young." Mr. Travis sized up the kid in a moment's notice.

"I'm older than I look."

"This job could kill you."

"I know," oddly enough still with the smile planted firmly upon his face.

Eyeballing the young kid Mr. Travis spoke, "there's no glory in it."

"I'm not looking for any."

"Am I to believe that this is the only brave man among you?" Mr. Travis spoke to the few remaining sober men in the bar.

Ezra gritted his teeth as he continued to drink his whiskey. It was quite often that his courage and bravery was called into question, along with his allegiances, with good reasoning. He should be used to it by now, but every time it happened he always felt like he was being socked in the gut.

"All right, you're hired," Mr. Travis said somewhat reluctantly.

With a shake of the hand and a laugh, J.D. bounded over to Ezra with the good news. "Ezra. I'm gonna be the sheriff."

"Congratulations," Ezra wanted to hit the kid for calling attention to him.

"Ezra," Mr. Travis spoke. Curiously Mr. Travis walked up to the bar to stand next to the man in question. "Do I know you sir?"

"Don't believe I've had the pleasure." The cool demeanor that Ezra fronted was still in place, even though he was a wreck inside, feeling that his cover had been blown.

"Ezra Simpson…Ezra Smith?...Oh it was Fort Laramie. You jumped bail."

The con artist Ezra continued lying to the man, even though by now he knew it was useless. "Must've been someone else. I've never been to Fort Laramie." He continued to pour himself whiskey, and made a point not to turn and look at the judge.

"Oh, no. I never forget a face. Especially one I put away. You're under arrest. Young man, take his gun." Judge Travis pulled out his shot gun and pointed it at Ezra. J.D. looked as if he were in quite a predicament. Ezra threw back the last glass and turned around with pure charm on his face.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen. Please. This is obviously an unfortunate case of mistaken identity." Ezra pointedly looked at J.D. hoping that he would believe him.

"Take his gun," Judge Travis prodded.

J.D. sighed and reached over Ezra for the gun on his right hip.

"If my memory serves me correct there's a little something up his sleeve too." With a wrap on the contraption underneath Ezra's right arm, the small derringer popped out and into Ezra's awaiting hand. Ezra clenched his jaw to keep from uttering an oath. J.D. took the gun from his hand as well, not being swayed by the look of betrayal on Ezra's face.

"Don't do this, my friend." Ezra looked down upon the younger man, hoping he would change his mind.

"Sorry, Ezra. I don't know you all that well, and apparently he does."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"All right, take him to jail. Lock him up."

Madie sat idly nearby Mrs. Travis' workshop soon becoming bored out of her mind. She wished that there was something in this town to do, a bookshop maybe.

"Mrs. Travis, is there a bookshop in town?"

Mrs. Travis looked up from her desk and crease lines crossed her forehead. "Now that you mention it, we don't. Although…" Mrs. Travis stood up from her desk and beckoned for Madie to follow. She went to the back of the shop and opened a door that presumably led to the basement. She took a lamp with her and they descended the stairs. There before Madie stood shelves upon shelves of books. Looking with awe she ran her hands upon the dusty books that lined the walls of the dank cellar.

"My husband loved to read and he collected many books. I was thinking about opening up a shop but never got around to it. What do you think?"

"I think it would be a wonderful idea. Children should be reading more and maybe we could create a more cultural atmosphere then the normal drunkenness that hangs over the town like a dark cloud."

"It could be our shop, would you be willing to help me? We could turn this town around." Mrs. Travis had a smile upon her face as she stared wistfully into the future.

"I would love to," Madie smiled as well.

"Well partner, we have a lot of work to do."

Ezra was unceremoniously thrown into his cell, next to the outlaw who had shot up the store clerk. Great, now he was being jailed next to murderers.

"They try to escape, shoot 'em." Judge Travis shot a dark look towards Ezra before throwing the set of keys to J.D.

"Well, sir, now that we are rid of that loathsome curmudgeon, you may effect my emancipation." Ezra spoke from behind the bars, his fancy talk though did not quite get through to the younger man.

"Huh?" J.D. asked as he looked into Ezra's cell with confusion written on his face.

Ezra rolled his eyes and stared at J.D. "Let me out," he translated.

J.D. nodded his head in understanding. "Oh, well…uh, nothing personal, Ezra. I can't. Just doing my job."

Ezra closed his eyes, this was not where he had envisioned he would be. What would happen to Madie.

"That boy's done some stupid thing!" A voice carried from outside the sheriff's office, belonging to none other than Buck Wilmington and he was not happy.

"Ah, Mr. Wilmington, at last. Someone of maturity to end my ordeal." Ezra spoke to Buck, hoping that at least he would let him out.

"Yeah, right," Buck scoffed at Ezra before turning his attention to the young man sitting behind the sheriff's desk. "What is wrong with you son? Bartender said you signed on as sheriff?"

"I'm getting enough money to be called mister."

"Yeah, I hope they paid you in advance." The outlaw called from his cage.

"Shut up," Buck replied. "Are you out of your mind? You're gonna get killed. Ok, and then I'll have to think of something nice to say at your funeral."

"You mean you're capable?" J.D. laughed.

"Yeah, I'm capable."

"I'll be fine, Buck." J.D. replied as he perused through the contents of the desk that the previous sheriff had left behind.

"Yeah, I've seen your 'fine.'"

"Look what I found," J.D. smiled at the gun that he held in his hand. "Navy Colt .44," he spoke lovingly as he twirled the barrel.

"Don't do that okay?" Buck pleaded with his gently pushing the gun to the desk. "It could come loose, and then it could come out. Put the gun down. You're gonna be sheriff."

"Yep," J.D. replied looking for something else since his gun was taken away from him.

"You're gonna be sheriff," Buck reiterated with disbelief in his voice. "Yeah, you're gonna walk tall!"

"That's right," J.D. said with pride in his voice.

"Do something for me right now. Just get rid of the hat." Buck reached over the desk and plucked the hat off J.D.'s head and set it on the desk.

"You know, Bat Masterson wears a hat just like this one, Buck." J.D. replied picking up the hat with a frown and placing it back on his head.

"Shoot, you're no Bat. You're not anything like any of them," Buck scoffed.

"Well, I still ain't changing my hat."

"Okay, that's fine. I'm just trying to give you a few pointers, okay? So you don't get yourself killed. All right? Now, I was a lawman once. You don't respect that, that's fine. I understand."

"Hey," J.D. held up a trinket in his hand as if he just found gold. "A badge," he laughed as he put it on his chest.

"A badge, imagine that. A badge in a jail. That's something, isn't it? Do me a favor, would you? Just pin it behind your lapel. That way, you're not advertising. In case someone is looking to shoot you." Buck tried to get across to him that J.D. was too young for the job but it was obviously not working. J.D. was oblivious to what Buck was saying. Exasperated Buck ducked out of the jail and decided to go on over to the newspaper room, that was where he had seen Madie last, I bet she would love to know what has happened to her darling Ezra.

"Good mornin' Clarion News," Buck entered the building with a smile on his face. "Have I got news for you."

**Author's End Notes: **Sorry…a bit of a cliff hanger. What do you think? I'm following the series pretty heavily. I'm not sure how I'll break off of this story but I will be adding characters for our other Magnificent Seven members. They need some lovin' too! Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

1**Chapter 6**

Madie swept down the street anger radiating off her as heat off of a sun. Her destination was the sheriff's office and God forbid if anyone stood in her way. She pushed open the office and there lay Ezra on one of the dirty cots that lined the wall of his cell.

"What is going on here?" Madie asked. Upon hearing her voice Ezra leapt from the cot and onto his feet.

"Madeline, what on earth are you doing here?"

"I could say the same for you Ezra, why are you behind bars?" Madie stepped closer to him, completely oblivious to anyone else in the room.

"Uh, ma'am you can't…" J.D. attempted to stop her.

"And you…you are supposed to be his friend." Madie pointed her finger into J.D.'s chest. "You're supposed to be there for him and look where I find him, in a jail cell put there by none other than you." J.D. had nothing to say to that so resigned himself back to his desk. In her anger a few red curls escaped her bun and in a huff she put them haphazardly behind her ears.

"Oh Ezra," Madie sighed, embarrassed with the spectacle she had made of herself. "I know that I don't have any right to come barreling in here and make a scene but…"

"No darlin' you have every right. You shouldn't have to find out that your fiancé is a criminal."

"You are not a criminal Ezra," Madie hurried to stand in front of him and placed a hand upon his that rested on the rusted bars.

"I deserve to be here Madeline," Ezra whispered, not wanting J.D. to hear, in case he had a change of heart and wanted to let him go. "I've done some bad things in my day."

"That doesn't matter now. You are a good man who I am going to marry. That is unless you still want me." Madie lowered her head in a pure act of submission.

"Hell, if he don't want you I'll sure as hell take you." The lecherous outlaw spoke from the cell next to Ezra.

"You shut your mouth before I rip out your throat." Ezra threatened and sent him a scathing look.

"Madeline, this is no place for you. I want you to go back to Mrs. Travis' and stay there with her. I don't know how long I will be staying here. I might be sent into the city for a trial. I'm sorry that I couldn't take care of you." Ezra ran a finger down the woman's alabaster skin, and brushed a tear that had escaped her beautiful green eyes. "I'm sorry Madeline. I'll leave everything to you. I want you to be safe. Stick close to Mr. Larabee and Mr. Tanner, they will see that you don't come to harm."

"But Ezra, please, I know we can do something. I'll talk to Mrs. Travis and maybe she could talk to the judge and…"

"No," Ezra spoke harshly and regretted it the moment it escaped his lips because of the pain that crossed Madie's face was too much to bare. "No," he replied gentler, "there's no use. J.D." he called to the man behind her. "Escort Madeline outside please. This is no place for a woman." Ezra bit the inside of his cheeks to keep from yelling and throwing a fit. He wanted to hold the woman before him in his arms and kill any person that got in his way. But he didn't want her to see him like this.

"Ms. Bernard, come right this way," J.D. placed a gentle hand on her forearm but she jerked it away, placing a hand over the brand that she knew lay underneath the material.

"I can find my own way out, thank you very much." Without a look back, Madie marched out of the office and slammed the door on her way out. Ezra flinched and with a sigh leaned his head against the bars dejectedly.

"I'm sorry Ezra," J.D. offered sadly and sat back at his desk with his feet propped.

"Me too kid," Ezra whispered to himself.

The next day Ezra stared at the 'food' that lay on the plate in his cell. He gingerly picked it up and sniffed it, good thing he smelled it first because he felt that he was going to vomit. He would hate to have tasted the food. He noticed that the man next to him had not touched the food either.

"I see you are likewise disenchanted by this establishment's fine cuisine."

The outlaw shrugged and replied secretively. "I'll eat lunch when I get out."

The comment stopped Ezra in his track. "Leaving so soon?"

"Soon as my boys get here."

"I see. Can I interest you in a game of chance?"

The outlaw sized up the man next to him in the cell. "What are your stakes?"

"Well, let's just say that if I win and your associates succeed in releasing you, you might just forget to lock the door behind you." Ezra twirled a few cards in his skilled hands as he laid down the stakes.

The man chuckled, "and if I win?"

Ezra smiled, knowing that there was no chance of him winning. "You can kill me."

Madie exited the Clarion News, filling her days with getting the books ready to be moved to a new place. She spotted Chris Larbee and Vin Tanner by their horses and she saw a perfect time to bring up Ezra's imprisonment.

"Mr. Larabee," Madie spoke to the man in black. He turned away from his horse and tilted his hat in respect.

"Ms. Bernard, how can I help you."

"I'm here about Ezra. Isn't there any way that you can let him out. He's a good man and…"

"Ma'am, I have no say in letting anyone out. Judge Travis put him in jail for a prior crime. There is nothing that I can do about it."

Madie was so frustrated with the men of this town cutting her off while she was speaking. "No listen here," Madie stomped her foot and placed a hand on her hip. "I don't care who you have to speak to or what you have to do, but I want my fiancé out of that…" this time it wasn't a man that stopped her in mid-sentence but a gun shot.

"Ms. Bernard, get back to Mary's now!" Gently, Chris pushed her back to the newspaper building and ran towards the saloon, where the shots had originated. Angry that she had yet to find a way to get Ezra out, she went back to Mrs. Travis'.

As Madie ran into the building, she relayed the information that she had just received to Mrs. Travis, but didn't have to when sounds of a gun fight echoed through town. The two women crowded around the window to see what was happening and neither uttered a sound, both concerned for the well being of the men who fought for the safety of the town and it's people.

Once the gun fire stopped, the women waited a minute or two before tentatively walking outside. Holding onto each other, they strode towards the saloon and watched as a few men raced off into the dust.

As they pushed open the swinging doors of the saloon, Mrs. Travis nearly wept at the sight of Judge Travis on the floor with a gun shot wound. Fearing the worst she ran to his side. Chris was crouched next to him and looked up at her and Madie as they entered.

"It's ok Mary, he's alive."

**Ok...so I finally updated. My writing muse decided to come out and play today so I was inspired. Please review and let me know how you think the story is progressing so far. How do you like the characters?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Ezra watched with baited breath as Chris and J.D. took guns from the gun cabinet. Something was going down, and he wanted to be there for it.

"Mr. Larabee, might I assume you've come to take me with you?" Ezra sat on the cot with his coat off and tossing cards into his hat in the corner.

"Oh, I couldn't do that."

"May I ask why?"

"You broke the law. You've been a bad boy." Chris commented as he loaded the guns with bullets.

"I know where Lucas went." Ezra stopped throwing the cards into the hat. He was desperate to get out of the cell and if he had information that Chris needed he would tell him anything he wanted in exchange for his freedom.

Chris stopped what he was doing and looked up. "You do?" Larabee asked as he started to walk towards the cell.

Ezra stood up and ran his hands across the bars that kept him from the outside world, "yes sir."

Chris waited a moment to speak, "so do we." He replied with a huge grin on his face.

Ezra frowned but did not give up. "Well great. But he likes me. I can get us in. You try walking in there, you'll just get yourself shot."

Chris looked at him, and Ezra knew that he was judging him right there on the spot. "You ran out on me once before. You wouldn't be thinking abut doing that again, would you?"

Ezra hated to remember his act of cowardice a week ago, it was not something that he was proud of. He would do whatever it took to keep that information from reaching Madie's ears. "I swear upon the grave of my sainted mother."

"Now you told me your mother was still alive." J.D. pointed out.

Ezra shrugged, "figure of speech. Besides, I've got someone to come back to."

"Figure you're dead if you're lying. Don't quite know what that little girl sees in you though. But she sure as hell is feisty. She came to me trying to get you out of here. It would pain me to have to tell her that I had to kill you." Chris claimed the keys and threw them to Ezra who without a word unlocked himself from his cage.

Madie had just exited the building where Judge Travis lay recuperating. She had brought food for both Travis' knowing that they were probably starving. Madie was just about to enter the Clarion News when she saw the men of the Magnificent Seven ride down the road along with Ezra.

Running towards them, Ezra quickly spotted her and reined his horse near her while the others continued on. "Madeline I have to go and do something but I will be right back I swear."

"Ezra you're out," Madie state with disbelief.

"Yes, I know darlin', and when I get back I am going to marry you and sweep you off your feet, carrying you to our bedroom where I will keep you all to myself for a week." Leaning down, he gently grabbed her chin in his hand and planted a kiss upon her sweet lips.

Stunned, Madie stood there as sensation upon sensation ran through her body. After he broke the kiss, he stared into her eyes and kissed her forehead tenderly. "I'll be back for you, don't you go anywhere." He straightened up in his saddle and clicked the reigns, and sped off in an attempt to catch up with the rest of the men.

Vin peered through his telescope to scan the people below them. "It looks like a few more than we planned on." Seeing men fighting in a ring, people littering the town, and a sharp shooter on the roof top.

"How many more?" J.D. asked as he crawled to lay next to the rest of the men.

"The word 'regiment' mean anything to you?" Vin asked sarcastically.

Chris looked over towards Vin, "would you like to come back when there are less of them?"

"We come this far. Seems a shame not to go," Nathan replied.

Vin nodded after one last look, "let's do this."

Ezra walked into the crowd of people looking for the outlaw with whom he neighbored. He did not want to let Chris or most importantly Madie down. He knew that if he did not come through Chris would have no qualms with putting Ezra back into jail or killing him if he was in the mood.

He finally spotted the man standing next to the ring with his arms around two women.

"Lucas, my dear friend," Ezra called out, a smile upon his face. "You so discourteously left me behind."

"Hey, how'd you get out?" Lucas asked congenially.

"I played poker with that boy pretending to be sheriff. He lost," they both chuckled in amusement. "Listen I have something of a delicate nature to discuss with you in private."

Nodding Lucas gestured to the bottle in his hand. "Let's get you a drink then."

When they started walking, Ezra noticed that the women seemed to be following them as well. Stopping, Ezra turned and addressed the two women. "Would you courtesans excuse us for just a moment, please?"

Lucas gestured for the ladies to leave. "See you girls in a little bit."

"So what's on your mind?" Lucas asked once they were alone.

"I was just wondering…" Ezra suddenly turned to face him and the small derringer popped out from underneath his sleeve and into his hand. "…how big a hole do you think a .45 caliber slug can make?"

Chris walked behind Ezra to stand next to him. Lucas looked at Chris with a shake of his head. "I remember you."

"It's nice to be remembered. Start walking and we won't kill you." They started walking towards the exit, but they did not go unseen. Lucas' uncle was watching the event unfold and he started to follow them.

"Lucas, hey Lucas, where are you going?" the uncle called out to the men.

The three men turned around and looked towards Chris. "We're just going out for a little ride. Lucas decided to go with us."

"Do I know you?" the older man asked.

"All you need to know is there's man on that balcony with a rifle pointed at your head." They both looked up to see Vin cock the rifle.

"Is this a personal matter?"

"Not yet," Chris replied with a small smile.

"I'll double what you're getting."

Ezra smiled as if the older man would think he would take the money.

"You know Mr. James, there's some things money can't buy," Chris commented as he looked around them, "enjoy yourselves." They turned back around to leave until Mr. James yelled.

"Stop them!" pointing to Chris and Ezra, all of his men pointed their guns at the two gunfighters but Vin replied with a few well placed shots of his own.

"Okay, stop! Don't anybody move," Mr. James yelled with his hands in the air.

One of the men decided not to follow directions and took out his gun to shoot Chris and Ezra but luckily Nathan witnessed this and through his knife towards the men, hitting true and causing the man to drop his weapon.

Josiah was eyeballing one of the men who was at the scene of the Potter's murder. "Nice gun, can I have it?" The man handed the gun over with nary a word.

"Let them go," Mr. James commanded. "Who are you?" he asked Chris.

"Doesn't matter." Chris nodded to Ezra and they both grabbed Lucas' arms and along with the rest of their group, left the area with Josiah and Nathan watching their backs.

"Nice party," Josiah inclined his hat towards the crowd before escaping with Nathan.

Once they were out of sight, Mr. James looked behind him to one of his men, "get him."

The men of the Magnificent Seven leapt onto their horses and made a fast getaway, content for the time being on how events had turned out.

Vin looked behind them and was unhappy to see that they were being followed by a handful of James' men.

"They're gaining!" Vin yelled to Chris.

"J.D.! I thought I told you to take care of the horses!"

"I couldn't take care of all of them!" J.D. shouted back to Chris.

The situation was not looking good. The closer the outlaw group came the more dangerous it became. Bullets were flying every which way and Ezra prayed that he would make it back in one piece so he could marry his woman. When the men thought that this was the end, and they were waiting to feel the tear of a bullet through their backs, they heard a different gun shot, one coming from the side. They stopped and turned the horses to see the outlaw group being picked off one by one. The outlaws could not see where the shots were coming from, so instead of continuing their pursuit they turned tail and ran back to where they came.

Buck came out from behind the weeds, riding in on his white horse, both figuratively and literally. "Good thing I came along."

Chris smiled and nodded his head, "good thing you did."

**Sorry it has take me so long to update. I just finished my Harry Potter story "The Past and the Future" so if you are interested, check it out. Next chapter will include more Ezra and Madie, this was more of an action chapter. Keep reviewing please, I love the comments that I have received, thank you!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Madie heard yells coming from the town and she ran outside to see what all the commotion was about. The men were back and she could see Ezra safe and sound right in the middle of them, she was so happy to see him that she didn't notice there was an argument going on.

"What are you doing, bringing him back here?" One of the townsmen that was adamant about letting Lucas go was arguing with Chris and his men.

J.D. merely looked down at him and kept riding. "He's gonna stand trial for murder."

"How? The judge is dead."

The judge came out of the Clarion News, with Mrs. Travis holding onto his good arm. "I'm afraid the news of my death was a bit premature."

Madie stopped in her tracks when she saw Judge Travis. She looked worriedly at Ezra and he too was looking at the judge warily. She prayed to the Lord that he would not be taken away from her again.

The judge pointed his finger at the Magnificent Seven once he had the attention of the townspeople. "These men risked their lives to bring this man to justice. I want twelve good men who give a damn about this town to step forward and see justice done."

Slowly but with confidence, one by one the men of the town raised their hands to become a part of the jury that would sentence Lucas the punishment that he deserved.

"Court convenes in ten minutes. Take the prisoner to the jail." Once the Judge was happy he found twelve men, he addressed the group that had brought in Lucas.

"Kind of hoping you gentlemen would consider sticking around for thirty days. Keeping an eye on things until I get back. I'd be willing to pay."

"How much?" Buck asked curiously.

"Dollar a day plus room and board. How about you, young sheriff? You willing to take a cut in pay?"

"I'm in, if everyone else is," J.D. replied.

"It's a pity that I, as a convicted felon, will be unable to lend my services," Ezra drawled sorrowfully.

"Well, how about if you got a pardon?"

Madie nearly held in her breath, hoping that he was being sincere about his offer and that he would not rescind it.

"Where do I sign?" Ezra smiled.

Madie let out a little cry and everyone turned towards her. Ezra with more emotion then anyone had seen from him, jumped down from his horse and strode towards Madie.

With tears in her eyes, Madie ran towards Ezra and leapt into his arms. Ezra held her tight against his body and buried his face into her neck. He twirled her around, so glad to have her back in his arms. There was a round of applause and that finally jarred the two out of their own world.

"A man could stay pretty busy in a town like this." Josiah spoke up, once everything had settled down.

"I figure if you men are gonna be getting shot, I might as well stick around." Nathan smiled to the group of men who had soon become his friends.

"A few women around here I'm not acquainted with," typical of Buck to base his reasoning upon women.

"You in the back there, you interested?" Judge Travis spoke to Vin.

"Got some things need taking care of. But I guess they'll keep."

"Chris?"

"I have a feeling I'm gonna regret this."

"I got seven huh? I want you to know that I appreciate what you gentlemen did."

"And so do I," Mrs. Travis spoke from beside the judge, she smiled at Chris when she said it and a connection seemed to form between them.

The judge nodded to all the men and walked into the saloon that for the moment was doubling as a court room.

Madie smiled at Ezra whose arm held her tight around the waist. "So darlin', you want to get married?"

**I realize this was short but this is the end of Madie's first story. I plan to continue it throughout the series, episode by episode. Some won't focus around Madie, instead, I plan to bring new characters in for the romantic interest of the other lonely Magnificent Seven members. Please review, and look out for "Book Two: Madie". Thanks for reading.**


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